8 Essential Ways to Keep Your Video Content Relevant

It’s not enough simply create a video for your business; you need a strategy in place that will ensure you’re getting the most value as possible from your videos. Video marketing can be a costly investment, and it can be disappointing to watch your video views slowly decline.

So what can you do when your videos are no longer producing desired results and a favorable return on investment? Thankfully, there are actions you can take. Here’s how to give your marketing videos a boost and prolong their value.

If you have videos sitting on YouTube and no longer generating desirable results, it’s time to make sure they are properly optimized. There are advanced video optimization techniques you can do to ensure your videos are easily discoverable on both YouTube and Google search. Here are 8 suggestions:

#1 Review and Update the Titles of Your Videos

Are the titles still relevant? Would you say they are catchy and engaging? Do they reflect your current messaging strategy or target keywords? If not, it’s time to change them. The title of your video is one of the most critical factors for search engines to determine what your video is all about. 55% of Google universal search results include video, so don’t miss out on this huge opportunity in search.You also want your video titles to be appealing to searchers, so avoid keyword stuffing and instead try using exciting, funny or descriptive words that will entice your target audience to click.

Here are some popular words you can include in your video titles to boost interest. Can you rewrite any of your titles to include these?:

#2 Review and Update Your Video Descriptions

YouTube allows up to 5,000 characters, or roughly 800 words, for a video description, so make sure you are using that space to your advantage. Keep important keywords towards the beginning of the description and always include a link back to your website or blog. YouTube does allow hyperlinks in descriptions, so this can also increase referral traffic back to your website.

#3 Review and Refresh Your YouTube Video Tags

Are there any misleading tags that might be working against you in the search algorithm? Updating your video tags are a good way to refresh your video and increase its visibility in search. Generally, there are 4 types of video tags that you need to be aware of:

Specific Tags: These are one-word keywords that cover the topic. If YouTube gives you pre-filled suggestions that are essentially what you want, then use those, but also use the same words in a generic way.

Compound Tags: These are multiple-word tags. Try copying the video title and using it as a tag, leaving out conjunctions and prepositions (such as “of,” “in,” “and,” etc.), because YouTube ignores these words.

Generic Tags: These are words like how-to, tutorial, and vlog. YouTube offers suggestions, so use them.

Misspellings: If your keywords include commonly misspelled words, include these in your tags on purpose to capture searchers typing this in the search bar.

#4 Optimize Your Posting Times

Another way to boost declining video views is to take a deep dive into your social media metrics and analyze which days and times you are posting your videos. You might be missing the optimal times that your audience is actually online. Try to identify patterns in the time of day and day of the week when most of your audience appears to be online and interacting with your content — these are the times you need to be resharing your videos.

CoSchedule recently did the admirable job of compiling research from 6+ of the top marketing blogs on the best times to post on social media and broke it up into more palatable advice. Here are few of the most noteworthy conclusions on when to post on each social network.

Facebook: 1–4 p.m. late into the week and on weekends

Twitter: 12–3 p.m., with a peak best time at 5 p.m. During the workweek is best

LinkedIn: midweek from 5–6 p.m

Google+: The beginning of the workday morning is optimal

Pinterest: Saturdays are your best bet — and later at night

Instagram: Mondays get more attention, but audiences are engaged throughout the week

#5 Understand Where Your Audience Is (and Follow Them)

The “If you build it, they will come” approach may work for some, but for most, video content can quickly fade into the sea of online video. If this is happening to you, it may be time to reevaluate where your target audience is and how you can get your videos discovered more easily.

A good first step is to identify how viewers are currently finding your videos. Take a look at your video’s referral traffic numbers. Which sources are driving the most views? Which are driving longer watch times? Below are three strategies for narrowing down exactly where your target audience is, and how to reach them.

#6 Keep a Close Eye on Your Competitors

On which social networks or communities does your competition see the most interaction with their video content? Where are their largest followings? Researching what works best for your competitors is a good way to reevaluate where you should be placing your videos.

#7 Reach Out to Your Current Customers or Users

Instead of guessing or placing your video content on every social network possible, ask the people who are currently using your product or service where they like to spend their time online. Brainstorm how you can get your videos in front of your audience there.

#8 Join Industry-related Groups

Be where your customers can see you. Search out groups related to your brand and monitor these communities to see how they interact and the type of information they like, share and value. You can then use this information to decide whether or not a promotional video would be appropriate to share, or if there is a way to edit your videos to create helpful clips or industry-related advice.

Conclusion

There are 400+ hours of video posted every minute on YouTube, so the videos you post once a week or once a month can get buried and lost in the noise. Combat your declining video views with these strategies and achieve a long-term return on your investment.

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